


Resolve

by ExpressAndAdmirable



Series: The Heroes of Light [31]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Final Fantasy I
Genre: Angst, Bodyswap, F/F, Gen, Tiefling, Trials
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 16:12:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13193745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExpressAndAdmirable/pseuds/ExpressAndAdmirable
Summary: The aftermath of a traumatic encounter (adapted from an actual D&D session).





	Resolve

Sol pulled on her boots, ran her fingers through her wet hair, looked at the pile of discarded armour and sighed.

“Do you want to just… put it in the Bag for now?” Lux asked softly, trying to read the other woman’s thoughts through her features. She was handling the aftermath of the harrowing encounter better than Morgan, but “better” was a far cry from being alright.

Sol considered for a moment, then shook her head. “No.” Given their luck, an adversary would be right around the corner if she went without. She stood and reached for a grieve, then glanced at Lux, her expression almost pleading. “Could you give me a hand?”

“Yeah.” Lux nodded and picked up the other grieve, kneeling to buckle it into place on Sol’s leg, quietly heartened that Sol still trusted her to come so close. It was a step up from Morgan, who had violently rebuffed Lux’s embrace as she sobbed on the floor. She couldn’t help feeling stung by the rejection, but she also couldn’t blame the little Gnome.

The last of the Ten Trials. “The Self”. Two Sols, two Morgans, one pair floating naked and unconscious in a column of ichor in the centre of the room, the other pair fully equipped and backing away from their friends with terrified suspicion in their eyes. Everything was wrong, confusion turning to tension turning to very present danger. It was only after Grummer pulled the bodies from the slime that they discovered the versions standing before them were not what they appeared. The doubles claimed the comatose forms were demons, begged them to destroy them. But magic didn’t lie.

“ _Those_ ones aren’t real.” As soon as the words passed Lux’s lips, her party sprang into action, raining spells, blades and fists down upon the impostors. Wilhelm fired before Lux had even finished speaking. It was the right call and she knew it. But she had seen the look of betrayal on faux-Sol’s face, the panic on faux-Morgan’s, and each desperate, imploring stare was another knife in her heart. Their incomprehension was worse than any enemy. She could not bring herself to harm them, shades though they were, focusing instead on keeping the real bodies safe while Wilhelm, Grummer and Maergrahn worked. She cradled Sol’s head in her lap, murmuring words of comfort in accented Elvish, and drew Morgan’s body close to her side, doing her best to block the line of fire.

With a final swing of Grummer’s axe, faux-Sol’s body melted, her very solid belongings falling in a heap. The Sol in Lux’s lap gasped and opened her eyes, stumbling weakly but purposefully to her feet and hurling a spell at horrified faux-Morgan. She remembered her copy’s experience, Lux realised, the momentary flush of relief draining from her face. Morgan would remember too. The shattered trust, the fear, the pain, the images of her erstwhile friends closing in on her would be seared onto her panicked mind. Oh, gods.

Morgan regained consciousness with a wail as her doppelganger died, curling into a tiny frightened ball and scrambling away from Lux and anyone else who came too close… save for Sol. The Drow wrapped her in her cloak and scooped her into her arms, speaking softly as she carried her beyond the column of ichor and deposited her gently in front of her abandoned clothes. As the adrenaline in the chamber ebbed away and clearer heads returned, the three men shuffled politely outside to wait for Sol and Morgan to dress. Lux waited, a cautious, silent guard hovering over her family.

They had done the right thing; the fact that Sol and Morgan were standing, wet but alive, was proof enough. Sol assured them she knew, told Morgan the same. But there was knowing and there was _knowing_. Sol had been betrayed by those she trusted once before, had lost her entire life in the process, and a wound that deep was not easily healed once reopened. The thought tightened Lux’s stomach.

The two women made quick work of the armour, Lux squiring with practiced ease, barely noticing how well she had come to know Sol’s routines. Once Sol had donned her gauntlets and gathered her sword and shield, Lux paused them, searching Sol’s pale eyes as she lifted both hands to slate-grey cheeks. “Are you okay?” she whispered. The words hung heavy in the air.

For a long time, Sol contemplated the full weight of the question, the faintest movements in the muscles of her brow the only indication that she had heard her. Finally, with the ghost of a smile, she nodded. “Yes.” Lux wrapped her arms around the armoured Drow, allowing relief to unknot the tension in her core as Sol returned the embrace. She might not truly be so yet, but she would be okay soon.

Lux looked over to Morgan as she released her dajyr, the Gnome still sniffling as she squeezed ooze out of her thick hair. “I’ve got her,” Sol murmured, following her gaze. Lux nodded gratefully, adjusting the strap of the bag on her shoulder as she fell into step a pace behind. Morgan was innocent and in many ways simple, and her trust would be harder to regain. But it would come.

**Author's Note:**

> Title song by Nathan Lanier.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr at @expressandadmirable for a proper table of contents for the Heroes campaign, commissioned character art, text-based roleplay snippets and more!


End file.
